On January 14, in an opinion title, Yemi Osinbajo, run, I urged Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to join the train of candidates seeking to succeed Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) as president in 2023. I was an early urging voice and the opinion caught the attention of the vice president. In the aftermath of the opinion roll-out, a retinue of notable voices from far, near and all around the world have since joined in the same call of duty to a man many people think may be more interested in focusing on his duties as deputy than pursuing a lifelong ambition to become the biggest boss. Individuals and organisations from all across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones are enlisting in drives geared toward getting the Professor of Law to contest in the election that may be one of the most historical ever. Before our eyes, these drives are fast becoming a movement.
Reactions to expressed public opinions always come as double-edged swords in their swings. The one I shared generated applause from some unusual quarters. It also attracted hard knocks from those who stand zealously, and fanatically, with other candidates. I have received emails and direct messages claiming that the plum presidential seat is a more perfect fit for moneybags and cuddlers of the intrigues of dirty politics. Scattering sundry voices are also bellowing around that the more the VP is encouraged to run, the fiercer a dragnet of all manner of trouble is architected for the pastor. We have been warned that Osinbajo dares not pitch himself in a head-to-head collision and in unnecessary belligerence with at least one candidate they believe he needs to aid and not confront in fulfilling a presidential dream.
But the question now is this: Is Osinbajo running? There are signs of uncertainty regarding this. Birthday boy may still be enjoying his bash but Nigerians are not enjoying the suspense in his muteness. The downside of prof’s mute state is that some adrenaline that has pumped so furiously a few months ago are beginning to slow down in certain hemispheres. Who wants to lay it all on the line for a man we’re not sure wants what we want for him? A voice in Osinbajo’s orbit, however, assured me recently that except Jesus Christ shows up in the skies before the APC primaries and we are all raptured to high heavens, Osinbajo’s run is a done deal. “My brother, Prof is running hundred per cent” a close friend of the VP assured me. Is that really true? That is why we ask if Osinbajo’s run is a done deal or no deal?
There was an intense expectation that the veil of announcement would be shredded this week to mark the professor’s 65th birthday. Plans had attained the highest gear to launch out into the deep announcing Osinbajo’s run. But something changed. The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), jetted out of the country for two weeks on medical leave. Such a big move cannot be made behind the back of the president who has enormous trust and confidence in his VP. I read Laolu Akande’s pitch yesterday that his oga will soon lay everything to rest in a soon-coming announcement. The spokesman did not tell us on what side of the bed ‘everything’ will rest. Now, Osinbajo has to wait for the president to return from the doctor’s office in London.
Some of the concerns out there is that a very prominent presidential candidate has cornered all the royal headhunters especially in the South-West. The candidate is making these royal daddies food fight around cash-stuffed ‘Ghana-must-go’ bags. I asked another member of one of the groups working pro bono for Osinbajo if they are certain the Prof is running. The answer I got was “No one is sure”. But they all keep working. All these mixed messages about Osinbajo’s unknown intentions are giving a lot of people a headache that won’t go away. Is Osinbajo’s run a done deal, or no deal?
As we await which direction the VP will swing his net, I conclude this treatise. If Mr. VP is reading this, which is most likely, he should understand that we know running in this race is a very tough decision for him to make. It is not his lifelong ambition. He has nothing to lose but a lot to gain if he doesn’t run. He is an accomplished legal luminary, an astounding speaker, an anointed pastor and a man who is not willing to drop his day job because of politics. I am sure the VP will be considering his relationship with one of the candidates. It’s tough to run against a man you love as a brother and whose life ambition is to become President of Nigeria. It is understandable if this is why he is dragging his feet. The decision to run or not is solely his. He knows what we don’t know but Nigerians would like to let him know what he may not know yet. And that is it is too late for him to back down from running.
No Nigerian really believes that one man is a master messiah that will take away the metastatic mess in Nigeria by sitting in Aso Rock as president. Nigerians just want a Nigeria that works. This is why in the three regions of the North, the call for Osinbajo to run is a staccato. In the South it is a jarring din. Groups are growing everywhere clamouring for the VP to run. His emissaries are knocking hard on doors of the mighty and the minutest. They lurk in strategic places quietly combing nooks and crannies of the North and South for support for this man of God. Out there on the streets is an unquenched and unquenchable fireball of boiling enthusiasm desiring the VP to run. It’s from everywhere. People hooting for Osinbajo are mostly ordinary Nigerians, who have no shred of interest in political positions, or free money dole-outs in bails and batches from politicians. They are ordinary people who just desire the best for Nigeria as she rises extraordinarily from stench to stardom. These people’s allegiance to Osinbajo is rock-solid. And he is the man believed can help Nigeria attain a glorious position among nations of the world.
That man, millions of Nigerians believe, is Yemi Osinbajo! It’s too late for Pastor Professor to back down now. To win a race; you must run. To run and win you must know when to run. There is a time to run; and there is a time to cheer up a runner. If you confuse the times; you will run amok. Is this the right time for Osinbajo to run? You bet; it is! No time is better than this season. Osinbajo has the astute ability and suave sagacity to steer the Nigerian ship to berth safe and secured. Home and abroad, millions of people will be disappointed if he says ‘No”. We are waiting to hear from him.
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